The Becoming of the Founder
by smian
Summary: AU Post-OOTP Sirius is alive . Harry Dursley, who was taken from the Potters after that fateful night, is starting his 6th year at Hogwarts. The Potters have a daughter and she is targeted by Voldemort. Follow Harry on a journey to discovering himself, his family, and the true nature of magic. Harry/Rowena Hermione/Draco Ron/Luna OC/OC
1. Chapter 1 OWLs

It was a hot day in mid-August and at Number 4 Privet Drive a young man with a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his forehead stood in the backyard staring furiously at a lawn mower. His Uncle had demanded that he make himself useful and had quickly devised a list of things for him to do weekly. Mowing the lawn was one such chore and currently, the lawn mower simply refused to start.

Harry Dursley sighed and decided to replace the engine oil one last time. He unscrewed the drainpipe and watched as the oil poured into the waste bucket. His Uncle would be furious that he had wasted so much oil. Re-screwing the pipe, he refilled the engine oil and snapped the lid shut.

_Here goes nothing_. He grabbed the release valve and yanked the engine cable. For a moment, the engine roared to life. And then it died and a cloud of smoke filled the air. Coughing violently, Harry swore under his breath and decided to forego mowing the lawn; his Uncle could do that himself, for all he cared.

Stowing the lawn mower back in the garage, he climbed the steps two at a time and entered his room to find Hedwig snapping at another owl on his desk. "It's okay, Hedwig. I think he's from the Ministry. Hermione mentioned that OWL results would be out about now." He tore the letter apart and began to read.

_To Harry Dursley,_

_Please find attached your results for your recent OWLs. I would like to congratulate you on achieving the highest mark in Defence Against the Dark Arts in over a century. Please decide which courses you will be taking during your 6__th__ year at Hogwarts and reply to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall via this OWL. _

_Thank you,_

_Grizelda Marchbanks_

_Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.) - Harry Dursley_

_Astronomy - P_

_Care of Magical Creatures - O_

_Charms - O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts - O+_

_Herbology - E_

_History of magic - A_

_Potions - O_

_Transfiguration - O_

_Total Number of OWLs: 5_

_Wow!, _Harry thought. _I got an O in Potions! Wait till I tell Hermione!_ As if on cue, Hedwig irritably swung out her leg and Harry noticed that she had a few letters for him as well. Harry untied the letters and tore through the first one to recognize Hermione's neat handwriting.

_Dear Harry,_

_Have you got your OWL results yet! I just got mine. I got 8 OWLs! I missed only the Astronomy one, and we all know why that was. I thought about writing to Grizelda Marchbanks about extenuating circumstances, but Lily said it didn't really matter. Sirius and James decided to laugh at me, but my parents were really proud :)_

_Anyway, not sure if Ela's told you as yet, but the Potters are inviting you over for the rest of the summer. I know it's just the last two weeks, but for some reason they weren't able to convince Dumbledore to let you leave the Dursley's until now. Sirius will be dropping by tomorrow morning to pick you up! _

_Hope you're doing well. I should get back to reading - Emma leant me the 6__th__ year Transfiguration book, and it's so exciting! We start conjuration! _

_Love, _

_Hermione_

_Leave it to Hermione to get the most OWLs out of all of us and still be studying during the summer,_ Harry thought. He opened Ron's letter next. Unlike Hermione's, it seemed to have no structure at all.

_Hey mate! Got my OWLs from the Ministry I got 3 OWLs. Mum wasn't too happy but at least I didn't get less than Forge. Hermione got 8! Mental that one. Anyway mate the Potters are inviting you over tomorrow (no idea why it took so long) and it's dull without you so start packing now. Everyone's exciting to see you again! Cheers, Ron_

Putting it aside, Harry opened the last letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you're doing well and that the Dursleys aren't slave-driving you. Sorry about not being able to invite you over before (Mum and Dad said Dumbledore wouldn't allow it - can you believe that! The nerve of him). But good news! Sirius will be over tomorrow morning to pick you up :) We're all really looking forward to seeing you - been missing you lots! Mum can't stop talking about you and Dad just wants your cooking (don't tell Mum that) :)_

_Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna have all got their OWLs now. Dumbledore said he'd sent yours to you directly - did you get 'em yet? I know you did well. _

_Haven't heard much about You-Know-Who, they're keeping everything secret from us. Once you get over here, we'll crash an Order meeting :)_

_I'm really excited to be starting 3__rd__ year! Hogsmeade weekends start! Hermione leant me some of her books and offered to teach me a few things before school starts. She refused to teach me Defence though; I think she wants you to start the DA again. On that note, I have no idea who our new DADA prof will be. The adults and (for once) Sirius are all staying quiet about it. _

_Anyway, see you tomorrow. Take care until then :)_

_Love, _

_Ela P. _

Harry stowed the OWLs aside and took out a few rolls of parchment. He decided not to reply to his friends, since he'd see them tomorrow anyway, and instead focused on trying to choose his courses for next year.

Last year's events had taught Harry that he absolutely didn't want to become an Auror. Apart from the Ministry's incompetence, the Battle at the DOM had made Harry fear for the lives of his friends. Seeing Hermione lying unconscious after she was hit with Dolohov's curse, and seeing Ron's face covered in brains had made him realize that an Auror's life was never peaceful. And Harry longed a life where he could start a family free from danger.

Before term had ended, he had decided to speak to his head of house, Professor McGonagall. After nearly an hour-long discussion, she presented him with two options that suited him: healing or teaching. Harry felt that both of those had fit him well.

Harry thought back to all of those times when he had been in the Hospital Wing. He had thoroughly disliked the endless nights of bed rest the school matron had assigned him, but he had always felt a sense of excitement every time she treated him. On more that one occasion, he had wished that he could heal his friends whenever they had been injured.

And so, knowing that we would be able to teach at any point in his career, Harry decided to focus on trying to become a healer. He realized that the healing class would take up most of his time, which meant that he wouldn't be able to take Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry shrugged, and mentally committed to teaching himself any defence that he'd need to know. He quickly wrote a note to Professor McGonagall expressing his desire to take the NEWT-level Healing class, as well as Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration, and sent it off with the Ministry OWL.

Next, he grabbed another piece of parchment and hastily scribbled a note on it. _Sounds great, I'll see you tomorrow. Got 5 OWLs :)_

He tied the note to Hedwig's leg. "I need you to take this to Ela." Hedwig hooted happily. "Stay there, since I'll be leaving this place tomorrow morning." She hooted as if in nodding, nipped Harry's ear affectionately, and flew out of the window.

Harry turned around and surveyed his room. Finding books and quills and parchment hastily stashed in various corners of the room, he decided to get to packing.


	2. Chapter 2 Conversations

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ Harry groggily disabled the alarm clock that Ginny had given him for his birthday. He pulled his glasses from the side table and glanced at the clock; it read 6AM. He gathered his clothes and went to the washroom to get ready for the day. '_Sirius should be here soon!_' Exiting the bathroom, he made sure that his trunk was packed and that he wasn't leaving anything behind, and then descended the stairs to prepare breakfast for the Dursleys.

Entering the kitchen, he quickly set about making some bacon and eggs. Moments later, his Aunt entered the kitchen and muttered "Don't burn anything." Harry wasn't irritated by this in the slightest; it had been her customary greeting for the past 15 years of his life.

He laid a plate on the table and dumped the breakfast on it. Uncle Vernon sat down in front of the plate and chose to completely ignore his presence.

"I'll be leaving soon. My friends are coming to pick me up." Not expecting a response, he left the kitchen and was half-way up the stairs when the doorbell rang. He rushed back to the door and pulled it open to be greeted by Sirius's sour face.

"Sirius!" He quickly hugged him, only to pull back and burst into laughter. "Emma pulled you out of bed early, eh?"

"You have no idea. Neither of us are morning people."

"Really? You don't say." The sarcasm in Harry's voice was missed as Uncle Vernon walked into the hallway.

"Leaving, are you? Good riddance."

"Shut it Dursley," Sirius snapped, before turning back to Harry. "You ready?"

"Yeah. My stuff's upstairs."

"Good. _Accio trunk!_" Harry's trunk floated down the stairs to stop at his feet, much to Uncle Vernon's displeasure.

"I will not have this unnaturalness in my house!" Uncle Vernon had turned a bright shade of red.

"I could care less, Dursley. You're lucky I haven't jinxed you into oblivion for how you treat your nephew." He stepped into the house and closed the door. He turned to look Harry over for the first time. "You've gotten thinner. Emma, Lily, and Molly won't like that at all. I thought you said they were treating you right? At least you're growing some facial hair!"

Harry's face turned slightly red. Truthfully, he hadn't really ate much during his stay with his relatives. "They were fine. Nothing unusual."

Sirius held out his hand. "We're going to be apparating. Too risky moving you out in the open."

Harry grabbed his trunk with one hand and grabbed Sirius's hand with the other. Turning to Uncle Vernon he made to say goodbye again before the familiar sensation of apparation engulfed him.

He found himself standing in the lobby of Potter Manor. The house was huge. Two grand stairways ran along both sides of the circular lobby. Straight ahead were a set of French doors that led directly to a massive living room suited to house 50 people comfortably. On his right was a meeting room where the Order usually met; the room was warded to allow only Lily and James to open it and was protected by a number of enchantments. In the event of an attack it was the safest place in the house. A second set of doors on the left led to an indoor recreation room, equipped with a miniature Quidditch pitch, a pool, a workout room, and a gym, though the latter two were both underground.

"Have you had breakfast?" Sirius was already making his way to the stairs, no doubt to catch up on some sleep.

"Nope. Can you take my trunk with you?"

"Yeah. Lily's in the kitchen, I think she's making breakfast. She wakes up way too early for her own good."

Harry chuckled and made his way through the living room and a second set of French doors, before entering an open kitchen and dining room. The dining table was made of mahogany wood and could easily seat 30 people. A large window looked out into the backyard, which consisted of a large open field, a forest, and small garden bed. Harry, Neville, and Cho had been working on the garden bed for the past two years.

"Harry!" He had only a fraction of a second to turn to the sound before Lily hugged him tightly. Harry revelled in the feeling and couldn't help but feel that he was home at last. He hugged her back before she pulled back to examine him. "You're thinner! I thought you said they were feeding you over there!"

Harry blushed sheepishly. "Well, they didn't starve me. You can't expect much more than that."

A look of anger flashed across Lily's face before it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Help me make breakfast?"

"Sure." They set about making breakfast. This was always the most enjoyable time of his holidays. Harry found that he rather enjoyed Lily's company when they were cooking. Neither of them saw the need to use any magic, which drove the rest of the house crazy, especially Ron.

"How were your OWLs? Ela wouldn't tell me how you did." She was struggling to open a jar of blueberry jam.

Harry took the jar from her and opened it with a pop, handing it back to her. He took out a bag of flour and milk before replying, "They were alright. I got Os in Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and Care of Magical Creatures. I pretty much failed Astronomy, no surprise there. Oh and I got an O in Potions! I wonder how that happened."

"Wow! That's really good! I'm proud of you, Harry." For a moment, Harry thought he saw a strange look pass in her eyes, but it was gone a moment later. He smiled at her. "Now you can be an Auror!"

"Thanks." He handed the waffle mix to her and set about cutting up some slices of fruit. He noticed her eyes on him. She could always tell when something was wrong. He didn't know how she did it. "But I'm not looking to become an Auror anymore."

Lily poured a spoonful of the mix in the waffle machine and set the heat high. She set the rest of the mix on the counter and was silent for a moment. Finally, she said, "I suppose this has something to do with the Department of Mysteries?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know. Maybe. I think it was a long time coming and what happened last year just…sort of…solidified it." He struggled to find a way to put it in words. McGonagall hadn't asked any questions. "I can't see my friends hurt. I can't lead my friends knowing that they'll be hurt. I'm good at it; I'm a good dueller and a good leader - people have told me that enough times. But I can't do that for the rest of my life. Chasing dark wizards, protecting important peoples, working for the Ministry. I've had enough of that to last a lifetime. I want to live my life free of danger." He found it surprisingly easy to talk to her; as if he was letting go of all the stress.

Lily watched him sadly as he popped a few slices of bread into the toaster. When she spoke, her voice was full of pity. "You know you won't be free until Voldemort is dead. Ela might be at the top of his list, but you're not far behind. He won't leave you alone."

Harry met her eyes and saw her look at him with pity. He quickly averted his gaze; he didn't want anyone's pity. She was right though. "I know. But I have every confidence in Ela. She's a strong witch. She can handle him."

Now it was Lily's turn to sigh. Even if she didn't say it, Harry knew there was something special about Ela. The Prophet had taken to calling her 'the Chosen One' lately, and Harry suspected there was more truth to it than Lily and James were willing to admit. "And I'll stand with her until it's over. She's the closest thing I have to a younger sister."

Lily stepped closer to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. You can't imagine what that means to me." She held his hug for a moment longer than usual, then stepped back and wiped her eyes clean. The two of them turned back to making breakfast.

They were soon joined by Hermione and Molly, who both gave a squeal of delight when the saw Harry and rushed to hug him. Molly immediately began fussing about how under-nourished he looked.

"Really, Molly, it's fine. I was fed no more than I wanted to be," Harry tried to explain. Molly harrumphed dismissively, as if Harry's eating habits were unsatisfactory to begin with. Harry caught Lily's eyes as she looked on in amusement and stifled her laughter.

"How were your OWLs, Harry!" Hermione asked.

"Oh he did really well. He got 5 OWLs, in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense, and Care of Magical Creatures." Lily exclaimed. Her eyes lit up in pride as she spoke about it.

"Oh Harry that's wonderful!" Hermione beamed at him. She had pushed him a lot last year and Harry knew he wouldn't have done as well if she hadn't kept him on a strict study schedule. "Have you chosen your courses for next year?"

Harry nodded, but before Hermione could ask another question, James, Arthur, Fred, George, Remus, and Ginny entered the kitchen.

"Oi! There's our favourite brother!" Fred and George proceeded to lift Harry on their shoulders, sending grapes flying everywhere. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed them tip a vial into his morning cup of tea.

"Let him down, you two!"

"Awe, mother, you're no fun!"

"Indeed! We simply want to -"

"Give our brother here -"

"A warm welcome -"

"So that he may learn -"

"The error of his ways -"

"And get a girlfriend -"

"To defend himself!"

"Harry doesn't need a girlfriend to defend himself. He's perfectly capable of deflecting all of your pranks." Ginny moved around her brothers and gave him a hug that rivalled her mother's. "It's good to see you again, Harry." She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "You owe me five knuts. Hermione and Malfoy have been exchanging letters all summer."

Harry pulled away and laughed. He pulled out five knuts (which he'd kept in his pocket for this occasion) and placed them in her hands. "You win. I bow to your superior match-making skills." His eyes were full of mirth.

Turning to the rest of them, he quickly exchanged greetings with James, Remus, and Arthur, all of whom smiled brightly at him. Molly immediately began to tell them about his OWL scores, to which Remus congratulated him enthusiastically and James grinned as if Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

Arthur bid a hasty retreat. "Great to see you Harry, but I must be off. Some kind of emergency with muggles playing with flying joggers." Harry quickly handed him some buttered toast with jam. Smiling gratefully, Arthur walked out and apparated away with a pop.

Tonks appeared moments later, looking exhausted. She had just worked the night shift. Remus was about to lead her upstairs when Harry interrupted. "I'm sure you're tired, Tonks, but you need to eat before you go. Otherwise you'll wake up even more tired."

Remus grinned at Harry and tried to manoeuvre Tonks towards the table, but she resisted. "I'm sleepy! I can eat when I wake up!" Before she or Remus could move, Harry had grabbed her arm and led her to the table.

"Sit." His voice was stern and Tonks immediately relented. He proceeded to load a plate with some eggs, pancakes, and a few slices of peach.

The Twins couldn't help themselves and burst into a fit of giggles. "You shouldn't try and resist, Tonksie. Harrykins will force-feed you if need be. He did it to Ginny once too!" Harry glared at them and they wisely shut up while Ginny's faced flushed in embarrassment.

Just then, Emma walked into the room. Emma Black was Sirius's wife of 15 years and apart from being much more responsible, she was exactly like him: lazy and definitely not a morning person. Her long black hair was tied back into a neat bun and she came up to be just as tall as Harry. Her blue eyes were usually filed with an exuberance that had even the Twins excited. She exclaimed when she saw Harry, whose back was to her, and proceeded to hug him from behind, all thoughts of having to wake up early leaving her mind.

"So my honorary son has returned! What kind of mischief did you get into this summer?" Her eyes danced with unsuppressed excitement as Harry grinned at her. She looked him over and echoed Molly, Lily, and Sirius. "Should have nicked some food from them. I swear one of these days I'll be the one picking you up. I'll give them a piece of my mind!"

Wanting to avoid the direction the conversation was taking, Harry decided to spill. "Well, I left Vomiting Donuts in the fridge for Dudley and Uncle Vernon. Can I ask you to go and drop in on them later on? I really hope they have the misfortune to eat them."

James, Emma, Ginny, and the Twins howled in laughter, while Remus wisely chose to stifle his. Molly tutted her disproval. Lily turned to face him with her hands on her hips and everyone prepared themselves for the scolding Harry would soon be receiving. "Harry Dursley, you did not! They're muggles! Now they'll treat you even worse next year!"

Harry held up his palms to defend himself. "Hey! They had it coming. And if they wanted to starve me, they don't really need an excuse." Her face still held a look of mild anger. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll reconsider the Grand Prank I have planned for next year, _mom_," he teased her.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she abruptly turned around and faced the stove. She absent-mindedly increased the heat on the frying pan and fidgeted with the bacon that was almost done cooking. James and Emma had stopped laughing and an awkward silence filled the air.

Harry turned to them and raised his eyebrows. Ginny shook her head indicating that she'd tell him later. She got up moments later and announced that she was going to wake up the boys. Harry noticed Chloe in the hallway, who waved to Harry, before she too followed Ginny upstairs.

James, Emma, and the Twins grabbed a seat as Lily brought over the finished bacon. She took a seat beside James and he passed her a look of comfort before grabbing some breakfast.

Harry took the seat beside George and grabbed some eggs and toast. And then realization dawned on him: the Potter's eldest son, Harry Potter, would have been going in his 6th year this year had he not been killed by Voldemort when he was a toddler. Harry's comment had probably brought back some painful memories. Harry mentally cursed himself.

"We'll be heading to Diagon Alley to pick up school supplies next week. Albus wants us to wait as late as possible." James announced. "You choose your courses, Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good. McGonagall said it'd take a few days for her to reply to everyone with a list of supplies."

Remembering that Harry hadn't answered last time, Hermione asked him what courses he was taking.

"Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Healing." At her quizzical look, he replied, "I see no need to take Defence. I can teach myself everything anyway."

"But you need that class to enter the Auror Academy, Harry."

"I'm, uhh, not planning on being an Auror anymore."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted when Sirius, Neville, and Ron joined them.

"Hiyyah, Harry! Good to see you again. This house was getting boring!" Ron exclaimed. Beside him Nevile rolled his eyes and smiled at Harry in greeting before taking the seat next to him.

"Nice of you two to finally show up," Harry replied with a grin. He was aware of Hermione watching him, no doubt working through why Harry no longer wanted to be an Auror, but she let the topic go. Harry knew she'd confront him about it later though.

He noticed that Ela hadn't come down yet, which was odd, since she was usually up before Ron and Neville. Harry sighed and decided to ask the question he'd been wanting to ask the entire summer.

"What's Voldemort been up to?"

Molly opened her mouth to reply before Remus cut in, "He deserves to know, Molly. He's more than capable of handling it."

"That might be, but they're all children," Emma snapped back.

James took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Children who are higher on Voldemort's Most-Wanted list than the rest of us." He took a deep breath and turned to Harry and addressed him directly. "The Dementors are under his control. The Ministry doesn't see it, but we have it on good authority that they've joined his side. He can offer them a lot more than we can." Harry nodded, not at all surprised.

Sirius cut in next, looking mildly irritated. "Hagrid is having no luck with the Giants, it's only a matter of time before they join him. The Goblins have decided to remain neutral, saying that they don't wish to be a part of 'wizard affairs', whatever that means."

"And the werewolves will join him very soon. They want equality and Voldemort can offer them that. I've been able to convince a few to come to our side, but it's less than a handful." Remus looked dejected. Tonks squeezed his hand and he smiled at her.

"And there's the Vampires too," Sirius continued. "They joined him immediately and rumours have it they're grouping around in France. Voldemort's planning something, but we haven't been able to figure out what."

There was a silence, then James finally said, "And he's searching for a weapon in Hogwarts. We don't know what it is, except that he's desperate to find it and -"

Lily chose that moment to interrupt her husband. "That's enough! You don't need to know more than that." Harry tried to look at her but she wouldn't meet his gaze. For some reason he felt a sadness take over him that he had often felt when Lily was frustrated with him. A desire to make her happy burned in him and he turned and looked out the window with a frustrated sigh.

"Has he attacked anyone yet?"

"No."

Harry focused on a tree that Cho and him had planted last year. "Then it won't be long. He'll want to make his statement loud and clear." He was aware of many eyes watching him, but he didn't care. "I think he'll hit Azkaban first. He'll want to rescue his Death Eaters. Prove that all who are loyal to him will be rewarded." Harry knew his warning would fall on deaf ears; they wouldn't think much of it.

"Dumbledore was injured, but -"

"Remus!" Lily stood up abruptly, anger flashing in her eyes. Harry was too caught up in what Remus had said to notice Emma and Molly glaring daggers at Remus.

"He needs to know, Lily!"

"No he doesn't! He'll be safe at Hogwarts!"

"Just like he was last year? And the year before that? _Voldemort's been in the castle_, Lily! He'll stop at nothing to get to him and Ela. You can't protect them."

"I can, and I will!" She glared at him, as if daring him to argue.

"You can keep things from Ela, but not from Harry. He's not your son, Lily."

In a surprising rage, Lily forgot all about her wand and leapt towards Remus, ready to knock him over. James and Sirius quickly stood up and James scooped Lily up and pulled her back, wrapping his arms tightly around hers. She wrenched herself free and ran from the room in a fit of tears. James bolted after her, calling for her to wait.

Sirius glared at Remus for a moment, before sighing despondedly and taking a seat. Emma and Molly spared him no expense and started yelling at him.

"How could you say that to her! She loves Harry more than all of us!"

Harry suddenly stood up and left the room, not wanting to listen to another word. He was glad that Remus had stood up for him, but the look of anguish on Lily's face had greatly upset him. Not for the first time he felt guilty for doing something that hurt her and raged against Voldemort. He mounted the stairs two at a time and stalked down the hallway, intent on locking himself in his room.

"Harry!" Harry didn't even have time to react before a blur of red hair covered his face and he was engulfed in a hug. His anger evaporated and he hugged her back enthusiastically.

"Hi Ela!" He pulled back and examined her. She'd gained a few inches in height and was starting to outgrow her robes. Her red hair ran freely down to just below her shoulder blades and her green eyes lit up in excitement. But that was all she'd gotten from her mother. She too wore a pair of glasses. He noticed dark circles under her eyes, concealed almost perfectly with a touch of makeup, and took in her tired look and knew immediately that she hadn't slept well. "Bad dreams?" His eyes shone with concern.

She looked away sheepishly before nodding. "They've been less frequent lately. Aunt Emma gave me some Dreamless Sleeping Draught though; it's been a help."

He nodded at her and caressed her cheek. She was three years younger than him and Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of affection towards her. To him, she was, and always would be, his baby sister. They had gotten along instantly and Harry prided himself in being one of the few people she would willingly come to for help. They rarely fought and Harry would periodically scold her when she did something stupid.

"They'll go away eventually. You just have to let them go." She smiled at him before kissing his cheek. "Go down and grab some breakfast. I'll be down in a bit and if I don't see you eating, I'll spoon feed you myself."

She blushed, admitting that she was hungry, and proceeded to descend the stairs. Ginny and Chloe laughed, and for a moment they hesitated keeping Ela from eating, just to see Harry's reaction, but decided against. Harry ignored them and simply rolled his eyes. _Girls!_, he thought.

He came to his room and opened it to find that Sirius had in fact deposited his trunk by the foot of his bed. The room was bare and just as large as the one in Privet Drive, but Harry liked it. He plopped himself down on the bed and sighed contentedly. _Home sweet home._


	3. Chapter 3 Diagon Alley

A week had passed since Harry had arrived and today they would be purchasing their school supplies from Diagon Alley. Harry had just pulled on his shirt and was in the middle of re-reading Professor McGonagall's letter when a knock came at his door.

He hastily put the letter back in the drawer and opened the door. "Hey Ela, what's up?"

She sighed. "Mum and Dad are having a row. Apparently we need dress robes this year and Dad doesn't want his 'daughter to start dating.' Can I come in?" Harry chuckled and let her in. She sat down on his bed and crossed her legs. She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeves.

Harry turned around and took out the letter and resumed reading it. Making sure that he had committed the list to memory, he replaced it in the drawer and slid it shut.

"It's not that I don't want to be a part of that conversation, but really, Voldemort's back and that's all they can think to fight about?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Would you rather they fight about something more important?"

"Yes…no…I don't know. Some part of me wants them to just start screaming at me. I don't know how they handle it so well!"

"I don't think they do. They might try to appear strong for you, but really, they're scared. We all are. And I don't blame them. Their only daughter is being hunted by the most powerful Dark Wizard the world has ever seen. Anyone else would cower in fear. But you can't let that stop you from living your life. If arguing about your future boyfriends gives them a sense of normalcy, then that's fine."

She stared at him for a few moments before yelling in frustration. "How the hell do you do it! How do you be so calm when he's after you too! Your life, and the lives of your friends, could end at any moment and you're powerless to stop it!"

Harry looked up at the ceiling and chose his next words carefully. When he spoke again, his voice was barely a whisper. "We're never powerless. There's always a choice." He was silent for a moment, and then looked back at her. "People expect you to fight Voldemort. They call you 'the Chosen One.' I'm not sure how much truth there is to that, your parents don't speak about it, but you don't have to fight him. You can leave right now and pursue your magical education across the ocean. Voldemort can't touch you there." Ela glanced down at her lap uneasily.

"But you won't. Because your friends and your family are here and you fight for them. For me it's easy; I don't have a family, I never knew my parents. But the friends I've made, the people in this house, they mean the world to me. And I'll do everything I can to keep them safe. So I'm not powerless."

"Yes, there have been times when I've failed. Where you and Ron and Hermione and Neville and Luna and Ginny and Chloe and so many other people have been hurt. But as long as one of you is alive then I'll keep fighting. Life is meaningless if you have no one to share it with. You'll realize that someday."

She stayed silent for a few minutes and then smiled. "Thank you, Harry. For listening to me. You've always been there, even if I don't think I'll ever understand what you say." She added that last bit with a smirk and Harry moved to ruffle her hair but she dodged him with a laugh.

He sat beside her on his bed and wrapped his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and neither of them spoke for awhile.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." The door opened and James poked his head in the room. "Ah, there you are, Ela. I was, uh, looking for you." He hesitated before walking into the room. "Your mother wants me to apologize to you and to tell you that you are allowed to go to any ball that Hogwarts puts on."

Ela smiled weakly at her Dad. "Thanks, Dad."

"But honestly though, if some boy tries something, you make sure you knee him real hard." James's eyes held a glint of anger and Harry had a feeling that if something did happen, James would skin that boy alive before Ela even had the chance to knee him.

"Will do, Dad. But you have to promise me that you won't interfere. I can deal with stupid boyfriends on my own."

"Boyfriends? Who said anything about _boyfriends_! Now listen here, young lady -"

'_Oh dear.'_ Harry could sense Ela's anger building and it didn't take a seer to see that a major argument was about to start. "Perhaps it's best if we get going! We're going to be late!" And before either of them could respond, Harry grabbed Ela, grabbed his cloak, and was racing down the stairs with her.

"The _nerve_ of him! How old does he think I am!" Ela was furious. _This is going to be a long day, _thought Harry.

—

Harry wracked his brain trying to remember the name of the Potions book that he needed to buy. He couldn't remember if it was _Donnel's Book of Potions_ or _Donnel's Book of Advanced Potions_. He'd just finished skimming through the advanced book and had found that, irritably, it contained only a few more potions than it's non-advanced counterpart. And the man at the counter had been of no help. _Oh well. Guess I'm grabbing the advanced one. At the most, I'll have to deal with page numbers._

"Harry! Do I grab the version for OWLs, or the non-OWL one? Hermione was telling me one of them was useless." Ginny stood down the aisle holding a copy of a 5th year OWL Potions book.

"Pretty sure it's the non-OWL one. The OWL one has a few more instructions which were just rubbish. Snape had us completely ignore them." Harry turned and walked down the aisle towards her. "You done?"

"Yup." They walked to the teller and paid him for the books they'd needed. Harry nearly emptied his entire bag of money. The healing books had cost quite a bit and even though the Dursleys had allowed him to work this summer Harry still hadn't had enough to purchase everything. Sirius had pulled Harry aside and given him his 6th year Transfiguration and Charms books, telling him to keep them in good condition for Chloe. Harry had thanked him profusely.

Harry and Ginny stepped out into the street and made for Madame Malkin's to purchase a new pair of robes. The group had split up and gone in pairs to get all of their shopping done; James had wanted to be out of there as quickly as possible and Harry couldn't agree more.

Harry suddenly stopped her just short of the doors to Quality Quidditch Supplies. He motioned for Ginny to stay quiet and the two of them strained to hear the conversation.

"Albus is worried about them. Apparently they've been fluctuating for the past few years and they could collapse any minute."

"Why doesn't he recharge them? I thought the Headmaster had that power."

"Apparently not. Albus told me that the Founders only allotted a few of them under his control. The rest of them are controlled by another entity."

"What entity?"

"No clue. He's been trying to figure that out for years. Rumour has it that it's tied to one of the ghosts."

"So You-Know-Who could puncture the wards? They're that weak?"

"They're not weak. At least that's not how Albus explained it. He said that certain -"

Just then, Arthur and Remus walked out of the shop. Harry and Ginny quickly walked past them but Harry couldn't shake off the feeling that they'd been discovered. _The wards are weak? Is Hogwarts even safe this year?_ Harry mind raced to determine what was going on. _I thought wards around Hogwarts were self-sustaining? _Harry was lost in thought and almost walked right past Madame Malkin's until Ginny steered him toward the shop.

They walked in to find, to their amusement, Hermione and Draco Malfoy engaged in a conversation. The two didn't seem to notice them at all. Harry caught Ginny's eye and held back his laughter.

"Hello, you two." Harry had decided to break up the conversation. Ginny gave him a scolding look.

"Oh hi Harry, Ginny! You two almost done?" Hermione's cheeks held a slight flush. Amongst their entire group Harry was the only other person who even spoke to Draco. He and Draco had an odd sort of friendship; they'd realized that even though they didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, they were on the same side. Harry smiled grimly at the memory of the night when he'd first called him Draco.

_Harry strolled the hallways in his Invisibility Cloak after hours and reared a corridor to see Draco being chased by Filch. He quickly pulled the 4__th__ year under his cloak and told him to stay still. The two of them held their breaths until Filch and Mrs. Norris ran right past them. _

_Draco pulled away from Harry and turned to face him. "So you do have an Invisibility Cloak. My father suspected it. I supposed that's how you put your name in the Goblet?"_

"_I just saved you from Filch and you're accusing me of putting my name in the Goblet? I'll say it again, I had nothing to do with the Goblet. And what are you doing out at this time?"_

"_I could ask you the same question, Dursley!"_

_Harry sighed in frustration. "Fine. I'm not interested. Don't get caught again, Draco." He pulled the hood of the cloak up and walked away. He didn't waited to see Draco's reaction. _

The next time they'd met they were on a first-name basis. Despite their friendship, Draco made it a point to use every opportunity to ridicule Harry and his friends in public; he had told Harry that he had to keep up appearances and as much as Harry hated it, Draco was right.

"Yeah the robes are last on our list. You?" Harry glanced at Draco and the two of them exchanged the slightest of nods, before Draco left the shop. Harry noticed Hermione's eyes following him for a while before he was out of sight. She turned back to face Harry.

"Just waiting for mine. Chloe got hers already, she's paying for them now." Harry nodded, and he and Ginny split up to find their robes. Harry had decided not to purchase new dress robes this year. He had absolutely no intention on going to any more dances in his life. He scanned the aisles and found one that fit him. He plucked two from the rack and went to the counter to pay. Chloe stood waiting for him.

"Hermione told me to wait for you and Ginny. She suggested we all leave together."

"Sounds good. We're all pretty much done. Is your mom near?"

"Yeah she's right next door. We can portkey home with her."

Harry nodded and quickly paid for his robes. Ginny was right behind him in line.

Suddenly the ground shook. "What was that!" Hermione exclaimed. Her voice sounded high-pitched in the silence that followed.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw it. Brandishing his wand, he ran as fast as he could out of the shop, ignoring the calls from behind him. "Ela!" She turned to look at him just as he tackled her down. Harry felt a powerful curse graze past his neck and slam in the shop behind him. There was a deafening explosion and shards of glass rained over the two of them.

For a moment Harry thought it was over. Then there was a roar of fury and unimaginable pain tore through him. White hot knives pierced every inch of his skin. His blood boiled and his bones twisted. He was dimly aware of the sounds of someone screaming in agony, not realizing that it was him. He writhed on the ground, his mind begging for the pain to stop.

And then it was over and he lay on the floor. His vision swam in and out of focus. Someone was yelling his name, but the ringing in his ears made any noise difficult to hear.

"Harry! Get up!" Neville grabbed him around his torso and pulled him to his feet. A sense of vertigo hit Harry, but Neville kept his arm around him and steadied him.

"Ela…" Harry's voice sounded weak, even to himself. The Cruciatus had never affected him like this.

"She's safe. Kingsley took her and left," Ron informed him. He grabbed Harry and yelled in his face, "Pull yourself together, Harry! We need to get out of here!"

Harry shook his head as his vision cleared. All around them Death Eaters were engaged in duels with Aurors and Order members. Several shops had been blown apart by the initial explosion. Harry pushed the pain and the dizziness aside and focused on his surroundings. "Right. Has everyone else left?"

"Emma left with Chloe and Hermione. Chloe was injured when Madame Malkin's was torn apart. The twins and Ginny are in Flourish and Blots. Remus is with them. They have the last portkey."

"Then we need to head there." Harry said. A jet of red light sped towards Ron, who conjured a shield and reflected it back. Harry, Ron, and Neville turned around as four Death Eaters headed their way. "You two take one each, I've got the two on the left."

Immediately, the fight began. Curses and hexes flew past each other at rapid speeds, impacting uselessly against shields.

"_Incarcerous!_" Ropes burst from Harry's wand and wrapped themselves around the smaller Death Eater, who struggled to free himself. _'Maybe this'll be easier than I thought'_, Harry thought. The taller Death Eater turned to his partner and freed him with a wave of his wand. But that was exactly what Harry had expected. He poured energy into his wand and whipped it towards the floor as if slicing the air in half. A strong gust of wind toppled the two Death Eaters over, and a quick _Stupefy_ later only the smaller one remained. Harry banished the fallen Death Eater with a flick of his wrist.

Neville's Death Eater had managed to subdue him for a moment and sent a slicing hex straight for Harry. Harry swerved out of the way but wasn't fast enough. He gasped as blood spurted from his right shoulder. Harry quickly moved his wand to his left hand, as Neville rejoined the fight.

Harry pointed his wand to the ground and shouted, "_Reducto!_" The ground beneath the shorter Death Eater exploded just as he moved back, letting out a string of swear words. _'Time to test out a few new spells.' _Harry jabbed his wand at the Death Eater and flicked his wrist down. Immediately the Death Eater was pinned to the ground. Harry moved his wand in a complicated motion and the ground turned into instant quicksand. Harry cast a quick _Incarcerous_ to prevent the Death Eater from escaping. Turning around he noticed that Neville and Ron had disposed of their Death Eaters as well.

"Boys!" Remus came up behind them, followed closely by the twins and Ginny. Fred was leaning heavily on Ginny and his right leg was drenched in blood. Around them the battle was coming to an end fast as Aurors arrived to overpower the Death Eaters. _'This isn't right! There's something going on!' _

"Grab onto this portkey." Remus held out a long rope. Once everyone had grabbed it, he tapped it once with his wand and Harry felt the familiar tug of the portkey activate.

Harry landed roughly on the marble floor in the foyer. The impact jolted his knees and his legs gave out. A sudden sense of light-headedness swept over him and something warm travelled down his chest. A pair of hands seized him roughly as he felt himself falling forwards. His vision once more went blurry and a number of faces swarmed around him.

"Somebody get Emma!"

"She's with Chloe!"

"Then floo Poppy!" The voice sounded desperate. "Stay with me, Harry!"

And then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4 Back to Hogwarts

Harry awoke to the sounds of an argument. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but someone pushed him back down. His head was pounding and the rest of his body was sore.

"Stay down, Harry. You've lost a lot of blood." He could make out Lily's face as she looked over him. She placed his glasses back on his face.

He was laying on a sofa in the living room. Glancing around, he noticed Fred sitting on the automan, his leg held straight in a bind. Chloe was resting against her dad's shoulder with her eyes closed. Molly was fussing over Ron and Ginny, lecturing them about how reckless they'd been to get involved in the fight. Neville's grandmother had arrived and sat next to him looking at her grandson with a look of pride. Hermione and Ela sat at the foot of Harry's sofa and Harry noticed with a relief that both of them seemed relatively unscathed.

In the center of the room, James was shouting at Albus Dumbledore.

"Were you out of your mind! Aurors should have been there to _prevent_ this. Not sweep in afterward!" James was furious.

"I do not believe that Diagon Alley was the true target tonight." Dumbledore looked every bit his age as he continued. "He would have nothing to gain from this. I believe this was a distraction for something else, though I'm not sure what. I presume, a few days from now, we will know more."

"You could have warned us that this was going to happen! Voldemort almost killed Ela tonight!" At this, Harry caught Ela's eyes and she smiled at him gratefully. He smiled back weakly.

"You know why I could not do that, James. Our spy's identity would have been compromised. And Eleanor was in good hands. Her friends, particularly Harry, did a fine job in keeping her safe." Ela's smile faded at hearing this and her eyes clouded over with anger. She opened her mouth to retort but was silenced with a glare from Lily.

Harry tuned out the rest of the argument and tried once again to sit up. He groaned from the pain in his sore body; the effects of the Cruciatus hadn't worn off yet. Lily quickly turned to him and tried to push him back down, but Harry had already leaned his back against the arm of the sofa. She looked at him in concern and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"How do you feel?" she asked, her eyes full of concern. Hermione had moved to sit on the armrest behind Harry and he leaned against her.

"My head hurts and I'm a little sore. But nothing major. I'll be fine tomorrow." Lily nodded and checked the gash on his shoulder and neck once again. She handed him a potion which Harry recognized as the Nerve Regenerative potion. He took it eagerly and downed it in one gulp. "Thanks."

Hermione gasped for a moment. "You were put under the Cruciatus! By whom?" Her grip on Harry's uninjured shoulder tightened.

"Voldemort. He was aiming for Ela." Harry could feel the eyes of most of the room on him. Being Crucio'd by Voldemort was no walk in the park. "What happened? Why'd I pass out?"

It was Ela who replied. "One of the shards of glass slashed your neck. The cut held until you arrived here, but I think the portkey tore it open. You were out in seconds. There was so much blood." Harry could see the guilt in her eyes as he took her hand in his. "Aunt Emma was helping Chloe, who broke a few bones when the shop collapsed around her and Hermione, but you were losing blood so fast mum had to use her hands to stop it from spurting out. She managed to hold on until Aunt Emma came over and healed you." She paused for a moment as her eyes teared up. "You could have died out there!"

Harry squeezed her hand tightly. "It wasn't your fault. I'd be on Voldemort's Most-Wanted list whether you were alive or not. What happened tonight was because of him and only him. You are not to blame yourself for this." Harry's voice had become stern as he dared her to argue.

Hermione nodded vigorously behind him. "Harry's right, Ela. You can't keep blaming yourself for everything that happens."

Ela decided not to say anything and rested her head against Lily's knee. Dumbledore left the room to return to the Ministry, signalling the end of his argument with James.

James turned to them and spoke, "We'll be leaving late for King's Cross tomorrow. We can't take the risk that Voldemort will attack the Platform. The less time you kids spend there, the better." He turned to Harry and thanked him for saving his daughter. Harry nodded in reply. James and Kingsley immediately left the room, undoubtedly to organize the protection for the train ride.

Tonks chose that moment to take out a bag of chocolate frog cards and began handing them out. Harry politely declined and leaned his head back against Hermione. He was asleep within moments.

—

Harry pushed his way through the train and settled into the compartment near the middle. If the Death Eaters decided to attack they'd have a hard time reaching their compartment. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ela, and Chloe entered the room after him and the boys helped the girls put their trunks in the overhead compartments.

Once the train left the station Harry pulled out a book on basic ward making that Tonks had given him for his birthday and resumed reading it. The book was an interesting read, outlining all of the concepts that were involved in erecting basic wards. Anti-summoning wards, wards that kept a constant temperature in the area, wards that cancelled out all sounds from the external environment, and wards that prevented people from sleeping. By far the most interesting had been the Magic Nullifying Field. If made correctly the ward prevented the use of any magic inside of it. The book mentioned it only in passing, citing that it took a lot of concentration to maintain and only a few people had ever been able to cast it over large areas, but Harry was confident that he could find uses for it in a more localized manner.

At some point Luna had joined them and a game of Exploding Snap had begun, but Harry and Hermione refused to play; both were immersed in reading their books.

Harry's thoughts went back to the conversation he'd overhead between Arthur and Remus. Without a doubt Albus Dumbledore was the most knowledgeable person when it came to wards. The fact that Dumbledore didn't understand what was happening to Hogwarts made him very uneasy. Weren't people supposed to have gained more knowledge in ward-making in the past millennium?

Harry was interrupted in his thoughts when Hermione announced that they were nearing Hogsmeade and should change into their robes. Harry sighed before pulling out his robes and draping them over him.

—

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Harry and the rest of the group sat watching the Headmaster give his annual welcome speech. Ron was complaining about not being able to eat enough and Harry had to hold back his laugher when Hermione glared at him and he deflated.

"This year, a number of things will be different than in the past. You will by now have heard that Lord Voldemort has returned." Harry heard the sounds of several goblets clatter to the floor as people flinched in fear of his name and he rolled his eyes. "While you are safe within these walls, the Ministry cannot guarantee your safety in Hogsmeade. Therefore, the staff has decided that Hogsmeade weekends will be moved to once per month." A collective groan could be heard from the students before Dumbledore continued again. "The Quidditch Cup will remain, however practices must take place in the presence of your head of house and will be shortened to no longer than 2 hours per week."

"Curfew has been moved to 9pm every night and Prefects will patrol until 11pm. I would also like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students. Mr. Filch has also posted a new list of banned items that can be found posted in your common rooms. Lastly, I would like to introduce a couple of changes in staff arrangements." At this the hall went silent. "Professor Snape will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year and taking his place is Professor Potter, who will be teaching Potions." The Gryffindors, who knew Lily well, cheered loudly. Harry turned to look at Ela and judged from the look on her face that she hadn't known about this either.

"Finally, it is with great pleasure that I announce that Hogwarts will play host to a number of balls this year." Harry inwardly groaned while girls around the hall squealed in delight. "The first dance will be on Halloween night, followed by another on Valentines Day. Fourth years and up will be allowed to attend, but you may bring a student of any age as your partner."

The speech came to a close and Ron and Hermione left to direct the first-years. Harry met Cho's eyes from across the hall and waved at her. She waved back before leaving with Roger Davies to the staff meeting ;they were Head Boy and Head Girl this year. He followed Neville and Dean to the Common Room while the two were chatting animatedly about a teaching fellowship that Neville had secured during the winter break. Behind him he spotted Chloe and Ela in deep conversation, probably already trying to find dates for the dances.

Not waiting for his friends to return, Harry climbed the steps to his dormitory, changed into his pyjamas, and was sleep before his head had hit the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5 New Classes

Harry awoke early the next day. The sun was just rising when he dragged himself out of bed to get ready. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a workout shirt and left the common room. He had started running around the grounds last year when Ela had been plagued by nightmares. Harry would spend his nights sleeping soundly in his dormitory only to be awakened by Hermione when Ela had a nightmare. He would spend the next half-hour with Ela before she fell back to sleep and then, not being able to sleep himself, would go out for a run.

Harry decided that 30 minutes would be long enough today - he hadn't run the entire summer and was out-of-shape. He set out for the Great Lake at a steady pace and thought back to Dumbledore's speech from last night. Despite the fact that he was a terrible dancer, Harry decided that he would try and enjoy the balls this year. He contemplated asking Cho and Roger (who were the lead organizers of the balls) if they needed any help. He knew he'd be busy enough with all of his classes, but Hermione had been urging him to get involved in the school community in some way.

He took a loop around the lake and waved to the merepeople that were lounging near the shore. Panting heavily, he glanced at his watch and noted that the time was 7:45. Classes would be starting in 45 minutes, so he decided to head back to the castle. As he turned he caught sight of a few Centaurs who were watching him along the edge of the forest. Harry ignored them and carried on; he didn't trust the Centaurs anymore since their refusal to help Harry and his friends trap Umbridge in the forest last year.

Soon he was once again considering the book he had begun reading during the train. The art of ward-making was a difficult one that very few people had mastered, and even then many ward-makers didn't completely understand the theory behind the magic. Tonks, Bill, and the book had explained it like this:

Wards were simply regions of magical energy that acted in a particular way; for example, some prevented the passage of waves while others prevented the passage of portkey magic or apparition magic. In fact, the Protego Charm was a very basic ward. The book called these types of wards _barriers_. But other wards released a form of magic that caused something to happen - inducing a lack of sleep, increasing the temperature, and more. The book called these _effectors_. There were many more barriers than effectors. The book mentioned that almost every ward could be classified into one of those 2 categories, the exception being those which served multiple purposes. Harry suspected that wizard-kind knew very little about the latter kind.

But that's where the simplicity ended. Wards by nature were supposed to constantly require a source of magic. To Harry, that made sense. To create a shield against projectiles one would have to maintain it for a certain period of time and then allow it to disperse. The caster would have to constantly concentrate on the ward; to loose concentration for even a moment would cause it to collapse. But some wards didn't act like that. Anti-apparition wards only required a source of magic in the initial erection - once formed, they are self-sustaining. Temperature wards functioned the same way, as did many others. Much research had been done in trying to determine why this was so, but as yet no answers had come.

The process of erecting a ward was also highly specific. Certain wards required a very particular state of mind. The most common one, the anti-apparition ward, required the caster to lose all awareness of his surroundings. Time wards, which were incredibly difficult to erect because they required very powerful magic, required the caster to become acutely aware of everything within the area of ward.

All in all, the art was not really an art, but more of a plethora of ideas with seemingly random and incomplete connections drawn between them. Nonetheless, Harry found them very interesting and committed to trying to grasp an understanding of the nature of the magic this year.

He slowed his pace as he entered the castle and sped walk the rest of the way to the Gryffindor Common Room. He climbed up the stairs and found the dormitory empty except for Ron, who looked like he had made no effort to wake up.

"Ron! Get up!" Harry pulled back the curtains next to his bed and yanked the covers off of him.

"Oy! Whazzamatterwityu?" Ron reached back groggily for his covers, but Harry had already deposited them underneath Ron's bed. After 6 years of waking him up Harry had nearly perfected the art.

"You're going to be late for classes, that's the matter. Now get your arse out of bed and get down to breakfast." And with that, Harry grabbed his clothes for the day and left to take a shower. Ron groaned into his pillow.

—

Harry sat by the Gryffindor table just as Hermione put down the Daily Prophet with a disgusted look. "The Ministry has instituted a bunch of new rules against Werewolves, Vampires, Giants, and more so-called 'half-breeds.' Apparently they think that'll stop them from 'being a threat,'" she said through gritted teeth. She threw down the Prophet and Harry caught a picture of Fenrir Greyback pouncing towards a Muggle child.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that coming." Harry grabbed a slice of buttered toast and took a few bites. "I mean, really, has the Ministry ever done anything useful? During the war against Grindlewald they authorized their Aurors to use deadly force and that killed a lot of innocent people. We can't really expect much from them."

Hermione grumbled about stupid Ministers and grabbed a slice of toast from his plate. She would often grab food from other people's plates when she was irritated. Harry turned his attention to the Head Table and saw Lily and Flitwick in an animated discussion. Hagrid, who sat next to Flitwick, met Harry's eye and gave him a look that said 'save me!' Harry laughed.

"What's so funny?" Hermione was still bitter about the article.

"Nothing. Lily and Flitwick are doing that thing again, where they forget about the rest of the world."

Ron, Ela, and Neville chose that moment to grab their seats at the table. Ela sat next to Harry and leaned against him tiredly. He turned to look at her and took in her exhausted form.

"No sleep?"

She shook her head and smiled weakly. "I've become an insomniac."

"Have some food. Otherwise you'll be sleeping in class." He nudged her shoulder to urge her to eat. Instead, she put her head in her arms on the table and decided to rest.

Harry grabbed a plate and loaded it with some buttered toast and pancakes. He nudged her again and and placed it in front of her. She opened her mouth to resist but was silenced with a glare from Harry. She relented and took a bite of her toast and Harry turned his attention back to his breakfast, satisfied.

McGonagall, who had just reached the group and had begun to hand out timetables, caught Harry's attention.

"Mr. Dursley, while you won't be taking as many classes as the rest of your peers, your days will be much longer and you'll find yourself more magically drained than usual. And as yourself and Ms. Chang are the only students enrolled in the NEWT healing class, you will both be given your own supply of Pepper-Up potion." She handed Harry his timetable and proceeded to lecture the rest of the group.

He had Potions every Monday, Charms every Wednesday, and Transfiguration every Friday from 8:30am to 11:30am. Following lunch, his healing class was everyday from 12:30pm until 6:00pm. While it didn't look like much, Harry knew he'd be exhausted at the end of every day.

He peered over Hermione's shoulder and found that she was in all of his classes except for Healing. On her other side Ron groaned, no doubt because he had just found out that he had potions this morning as well.

He turned to glance at Ela's timetable and found it to be a mixture of different schedules. "That looks like a good one! Lot's of time to study between classes."

She grinned back at him. "I'm just happy that I only have 2 morning classes!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Now Mr. Dursley, I want your word that you will not share your supply of Pepper-Up potion with any of your classmates and that you will alert Madame Pomphrey and myself at any sign of intoxication. Is that clear?" McGonagall's face clearly conveyed that she had no problem with revoking the privilege.

"Won't be a problem, Professor." She nodded in approval before walking away to the next group of students.

All too soon breakfast was over and students started to file out of the hall. Harry quickly got up and gathered his things, not wanting to be late to class. Hermione was already ready and was urging Ron to hurry up so that they could leave for Potions. Neville wanted to grab a quick word from Ginny and had eft right after getting his schedule.

"What do you have?", Harry asked Ela.

"Charms. Only one today." She looked annoyed and rubbed her eyes to stay awake.

"Go to class, and get some sleep after."

She nodded, before sighing and getting up. "I think Chloe might have slept in, so I'm going to go check on her quickly." She hugged him quickly, kissed his cheek, and hurried from the hall. She had a habit of doing that, ever since her second year after Voldemort had returned.

—

"NEWT Potions will not be an easy course for any of you." Lily was standing at the front of the class and was giving her introductory schpeal about the importance of doing well. "I understand that some of you did well on your OWLs after a lot of studying. That won't help you here. You'll need to develop an understanding for what potions-making truly is."

"Some of your are here because you want to be Aurors, others because you want to be researchers, and a few of you have absolutely no clue as to what you want to do. But I can assure you that in virtually every occupation you will encounter your fair share of potions, in gaseous or liquid phase."

"In the past, you have been given an instruction set with basic explanations and told to brew the potion according to the instructions. This was done to teach you certain skills in potions-making. In the next two years, we're changing the focus completely. Knowledge of how different ingredients interact with one another to create a final product is vital to your understanding of the art, and that is what we will endeavour to teach in this class."

On Harry's right, Hermione was already jotting down some key points from her intro. "That is why, as part of your final project, you will be creating your own potion. And you will have the entire year to work on it."

She spent the first half of the class explaining the final project and answering questions from students. They would be required to choose a potion from a list that would be posted next class and present a report detailing the ingredients used and how they work together to produce the desired result. "I can't tell you right now which potions will be on the list, as Professor Snape and I are still discussing it. But it will not be a potion that has already been created. The idea is to get all of you to apply what you've learned over the years to create something new. We'll provide you with an effect, and you will create it."

The questions continued for a few more minutes until Lily had them break up into groups and make a calming draught. Harry paid particular attention to her explanation of the interactions between the ingredients, as he suspected that Lily had chosen this potion for a reason.

Soon the class ended and Harry submitted a vial with his potion. He told Neville, Ron, and Hermione to head to lunch and that he wanted a few minutes with Lily. They said goodbye and Harry waited until the class was empty until he approached her. She was sitting at the desk writing lesson plans for her classes and looked up as he sat down on one of the front row desks. "Harry! You're still here. How'd I do?"

Harry smiled. "Much better than Snape, though honestly, that's not much of a compliment."

She grinned. "I'll take what I can get." She rolled up her parchment and started to pack things back into her bag. "You want to talk about something?"

"Yeah, actually. It's about Ela. I'm wondering if she can get some Dreamless Sleep potion every now and then."

Lily's smile left her face to be replaced with a concerned look. "I'm not sure. Emma was wary of giving it to her, saying she might come to rely on it."

"I think she needs it. She hasn't slept properly in weeks and I doubt she could hold her own in a duel. She almost didn't want to go to class this morning."

Lily nodded and sighed, before taking a seat on the desk opposite from Harry. "I know. She's been exhausted the whole summer, and I tried to talk with her but she won't tell me anything. James and I are both so helpless."

Harry didn't know what to say. He knew what Ela had been dreaming about, but if she hadn't told her mother then Harry wasn't about to.

Finally Lily stood up again, already looking worn out from the conversation. "I'll ask Emma again and try to get something for her."

Harry nodded and stood up as well. He picked up his bag and the two of them left the classroom toward the Great Hall. Harry bid Lily goodbye and headed to the kitchens, telling her that he wanted to grab a quick snack and head over to the Hospital Wing early.

—

Cho was already in the Hospital Wing's Staff Room when Harry arrived. She got up from her spot by the window and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Hi Harry!"

Cho and Harry had always had a strange relationship. Both had been attracted to the other initially but had mutually agreed that it could never work out and were content with being good friends. She was one of the few women that Harry was comfortable with talking to when he ran into a problem, the others being Lily and Ginny. Lily seemed to genuinely care about him and Ginny always gave the best advice. Cho, on the other hand, was usually the one with the smart-alec comments. _'Suck it up, Harry. You've got bigger problems'_, she would say.

Harry greeted her warmly before she released him. "Thanks, Cho. It's good to see you too." He set his bag on the couch and plumped himself down beside her. "How was your summer?"

"Terrible. We were in hiding, since my mom is being targeted by Death Eaters. She's a brilliant Potions Mistress and apparently You-Know-Who's been trying to get her to join him since the first war. He finally gave up and called for her death." Cho seemed to visibly deflate at this but never lost eye contact with Harry.

"I'm sorry about that. I heard she used to be in the Order, but left when you were born."

Cho nodded. "Yeah. It was still alright though. We did get to take a short vacation to Sydney. Dad had to head out for a business trip and we got to go with him. It was still good fun. Yours? I heard you were involved in that attack at Diagon Alley."

"Mine was the same old." The two spent the next 20 minutes getting caught up from everything that had happened during the summer until Madame Pomphrey entered the room.

"Ah, there you two are. I was wondering why you hadn't showed up yet."

Harry grinned at her. Even though she made him spend hours in the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomphrey was one of Harry's most favourite people. "Hi Madame Pomphrey! Had a good summer, I hope?"

She smiled back at him. "Why yes, Harry, I quite enjoyed mine. Spent most of it in South America. Great beaches there." Her eyes glazed over in the memory before she suddenly came back to the present. "As for you, looks like Lily fed you well these past few weeks." Harry blushed as Cho held back her laughter. "But Harry, call me Poppy. You're my student now, not my patient. Though, with your luck, you'll be both this year."

Cho laughed as Harry's face went red with embarrassment. "Uhm…I hope not, but it's pretty likely." He grinned at her.

"Anyway, great to see that you're doing well. Cho, I wanted to explain your clinicals to you before I get started with Harry. Harry, you're welcome to sit in for this, as you'll likely get the same schpeal next year." Harry and Cho nodded and she continued.

"Cho, you'll spend the rest of today here, as I'm expecting quite a few students are going to get themselves into some sort of trouble, so I'll need all hands on deck. But after today, you'll be spending your afternoons and likely your evenings at St. Mungo's. Hogwarts has an affiliation with the hospital and all 7th year students complete their training there. That way, the transition to residency is seamless."

Cho nodded and Poppy carried on. "Once there, your duties will be to monitor incoming patients and direct them to appropriate Healers. You'll need to diagnose and contain any situations until the Healer arrives, and you'll be working for 3 other people. I've been told that they are all international students."

"Your weekends will be spent here and you'll be doing exactly the same thing. Healer Smythwyck will be dropping by after dinner today, and he can walk you through your first day."

"How do I get there?"

"The floo in my office has a direct connection with their Staff Room."

Cho nodded. "Okay, sounds good to me."

"Have you decided what field of healing you wanted to pursue?"

"I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning toward neo-natal care."

Poppy smiled. "I thought so. You were really good with that last year." Cho grinned back to her. "Anyway, that's it from me. You're assigned to the deck for the rest of the day. And don't forget to come back after dinner, when Smythwyk drops by."

Cho got up and transfigured her robes to the whites ones that Healers wore. "Okay. Thanks, Poppy!"

Poppy nodded as Cho left the room. "Oh and don't forget to get started on the Pepper-Up potions! Make some for Harry as well, as I'll need to teach him to brew it first."

Poppy turned back to Harry and took a seat by the eating table. "So, Harry, I'm honestly surprised that you took up healing."

"So am I. Until recently I was quite set on becoming on Auror, but I've realized that that's not something I want to spend the rest of my life doing."

"And healing? You could see yourself doing that?"

"I'm not sure. I like the idea of it and the practice more than the theory. The physician aspect, interacting with people, doing something meaningful. I'm not too well-read on Public Health or such, but the administration of health care interests me as well."

Poppy smiled. "Well that's great, because that's what this year will be all about." She leaned back and relaxed into her seat before launching into an explanation. "The NEWT is set up as a 7-part system. Content, Determinants, Interaction, Healthy Living, Training, Practice, and Clinicals."

"Content has to do with the raw knowledge. How human biology works, how certain poisons work, how different types of magic affect the body; the essential stuff. Then we delve into a bit more of the theoretical, where muggle science can't really work. The magical elements, like nightmares, petrification, et cetera."

Harry nodded and pulled out his notebook and hastily began to scribble down some notes.

"Determinants is when we start to focus on the macro-level things, like Public Health. How does the health of a population change? What influences health? Is it money? Race? Ethnicity? Where you live? What you do? Where you work? Things like that. It's technical, but it forms the basis of medical care."

"Interaction is when we focus on how to work with patients. Etiquette is a starter, but the more important thing is the application of that things you learn in the Determinants portion."

"Next we move into Healthy Living, which largely has to do with _preventing_ illness, as opposed to diagnosing and treating it. Risk factors, preventative measures, et cetera."

"And the last part of the 6th year is training. At that point we would pair you up with myself and Cho and have you begin some practical work. Now, ideally you wouldn't start this until you've done all of the previous stages, but at Hogwarts we tweak the system a bit and synchronize it with your Content learning."

"I want to point out, though, that those aren't steps. With the exception of the Healthy Living phase, all of them are taught simultaneously and it's your job to make the connections between what you're seeing and reading and how it all fits into the big picture. You have to constantly stop and review what you've learned and what you haven't. That's what makes this year particularly challenging. At one point, you'll be so inundated with healing careless students that you'll be squeezing study time into the little 2- to 3-minute breaks you get between patients."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Suddenly this doesn't look like such a good idea…"

Poppy laughed. "Don't worry, Cho will help you through it. And you'll have the Pepper-Up Potions. Speaking of which, I assume Professor McGonnagal has spoken to you about not sharing those?"

Harry nodded. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone will fight me for it, really."

"Okay. Well, sometime this week I'll give you a quick history of healing, but right now, for your first lesson, I'll focus on the healing magic." She stood up and began to pace the room as she lectured. "You have to think of healing as a state of mind as opposed to a magical talent. Someone who is good at magic is not necessarily good at healing, and vice versa. There is a deep connection between your mental abilities and your ability to use healing magic."

"The basis of healing itself is in fact very dangerous. You must have a very sound understanding of the inner workings of what is being healed. Failure to do so will either cause the magic to not work at all, or result in death. So knowledge is key. But ultimately, you must be able to control yourself before you can control something else. You have to take a moment and calm your mind and body; reign yourself in."

"This probably doesn't make much sense to you right now, but it will in the coming weeks. For now, just understand that incantations don't matter so much as your mental capacity to be aware and present."

—

It was almost time for dinner when Harry finally finished up for the day. He had spent most of the day watching Poppy and Cho treat some students who had managed to get themselves hurt on the first day of school. Later, when classes had finished, he and Cho had set about making some Pepper-Up Potion. Hours later she had sent him off to dinner, saying that she would give him a vial before the day ended.

Harry entered the Great Hall and quickly spotted Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny seated near the middle of the Gryffindor table and took the seat between Hermione and Ginny.

Hermione turned to him, grinning, and immediately fired off a volley of questions. "So, how was it! Is healing your true calling? Is it interesting? You're not bored, are you? Maybe if —"

"Easy, Hermione," Ron interrupted through a mouthful. "Let him grab some food first!"

Harry and Ginny stifled their laughter as Hermione glared at Ron and Harry filled his plate with some drumsticks and mashed potatoes. "It was pretty interesting. I think I'll definitely enjoy it."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and Harry gave her a quick side-ways hug. Before she could say anything Ron decided to interject again.

"Her mate, when are we holding Quidditch practices?" Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to her book.

"Not sure yet. I was thinking mid-day on both weekends, and evenings once/twice a week. How does that sound?" He turned to Ginny to get her reply as well.

The two of them both nodded their agreement and Ginny opened her mouth to speak before Chloe suddenly appeared and squeezed herself in beside Neville. Harry noticed that she looked quite tired.

"Hey guys. Sorry to cut in, but I've been hearing some things today that you guys should know." Everyone's attention was immediately on her, but she waited until Ron had finished chewing before she spoke again.

"I was in the library a few hours ago, looking through the shelves for a book about runic translocations, and I think I unintentionally overheard a conversation about a plot to kill someone."

Ron and Hermione's faces immediately paled, while Ginny and Neville quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard her. Harry stayed silent, his thoughts turning to Ela.

"Who do you think they were talking about?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know. It might have been Ela. I mean, who else could it be? But they didn't say any names; just 'she'. They were saying something about the Cruciatus curse, but everyone knows that doesn't kill anyone, right?"

Neville looked a bit uneasy at the question, and since Harry was the only other person to know about his parents' condition, he replied quickly. "No, Chloe, it doesn't. But it can render someone unable to defend themselves. I think you should bring it up with Dumbledore."

Hermione nodded. "I agree. But before you do that, where is Ela?"

"She's asleep. I just left her in our dorm. She's been a dead-weight all day."

The group was silent for a moment before Neville said what was on everyone's mind. "I'm worried about her. She's already too weak to really defend herself and she hasn't gotten any better over the summer. Worse, if you ask me."

Harry nodded. "I agree. I spoke to Lily about getting her some Dreamless Sleeping Potion; she said she'd look into it."

"That might not be enough," Ron put in and Hermione nodded.

"There's not much more we can do. We'll just have to keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere alone," Harry replied. The group nodded.

Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Cho holding up a vial for him.

"This should last you for a week. Go to library and look up some side affects so that you don't overdose."

Harry took the vial and slipped it into the pocket of his robes. "Thanks! When are we making some next?" Harry asked?

"Probably next weekend," Cho replied before wishing him good night and leaving to her dorm.

The group chose that moment to pack up their stuff and head up to the common room. The girls went up to their rooms while Neville plopped down on the couch with a herbology book and Ron pulled out a chess board board and challenged Harry to a game, which he reluctantly agreed to. Half an hour later, after Harry King had seen a vicious beheading by Ron's rook, he decided to call it a night while Neville accepted Ron's challenge for a game.

Entering the dormitory he quickly changed into his night clothes and set his alarm for the next morning. Deciding to review his notes after breakfast, he climbed into bed and fell asleep.


End file.
